Below will be a collection of dragonfly and damselfly photos from North America, including Mexico. Go to my
African Odonate page or my page with a few odonates from
Peru as well, if you are interested in some images from those areas. Though I've photographed
birds for 30 years, the Odonata were all new subjects for me starting in about 2002. My sincere thanks to John Abbott, Giff Beaton, Bob Behrstock,
Sid Dunkle, Ted Eubanks, Dennis Paulson, Chuck Sexton, Martin Reid and John Ingram for helping me learn more about the Odonates and for
coaching me through many field identifications during the time when I was just getting started with these fascinating bugs. Many of the
below photos are from Texas, but I am adding many images of odonates from other states as I travel. The reader should visit the Odonata Central web site maintained by Dr. John Abbott at the University of Texas at Austin.
This site contains information on all the odonata of the U.S. with an emphasis on the south-central United States. Many links to other

Most of the photos displayed here are of wild bugs which were photographed totally free. There are a few exceptions, which were taken of a
dragonfly "in hand" to show close-up detail of the thorax, etc. Any "in hand" shot will be obvious. Some odonate species
seldom perch for photographs. On some occasions I have photographed "posed" dragonflies. Posed dragonflies are netted and are to be
saved as specimens, but are arranged in a natural position for photographs before being collected. I have done this only for species which are
almost impossible to photograph naturally and when the insect was to be collected anyway. Such photos will be labeled as "posed" in all cases.

For a series of images of a young dragonfly emerging from its exuviae go here.

Photography: I have often been asked about my own methods for taking photos of odonates. I have written an article in which I fully explain
what I do and how I do it. Hopefully this article will be helpful to some other photographers.
Digital Odonate Photography: My Personal Techniques

Note: Within each family group of odonates below, the insects are arranged alphabetically by genus and species.

Photography: I have often been asked about my own methods for taking photos of odonates. I have written an article in which I fully explain
what I do and how I do it. Hopefully this article will be helpful to some other photograhers.